Using Multiband Compressor to bring out lower notes

slothy one

Inspired
Hey everyone,

I'm trying to use the multiband compressor to bring out the lower note of my 8 string guitar. When I play an open note power chord (tuning low EBEADGBE), the low B drowns out the low E - basically because the low B has more tone and cuts through the bassier E string. I'd like to isolate the low E and try and bring that out. I'm a novice with the MBC, so I haven't been able to accomplish this yet. But based on my understanding of the MBC, I believe this is possible.

If anyone has dealt with this and can offer me some insight, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks guys.
 
Have you tried an eq first? I'm not at home at the moment, so I can't try it and I have never used the MBC block.
But in theory, it's all the same.
A multiband compressor is great for evening out frequencies. But you have to know which range of frequncies you want the compressor to take care of. Either by ear or find out what the exact frequency range is from the low E to the B or Ab is. (I believe that the low Ab is around 233 hertz since the A on a normal 6 string guitar is 440 hertz. Look at a piano frequency chart.
Usually most multiband compressors are divided into 3 or 4 bands (or more)
The MBC block has 3 bands I believe.
So have a nicely compressed setting for the frequencies between the low E and Ab and a slow attack to allow the frequencies to ring out.
Then from B and upward, have a normal setting and tweak the compression so that each string sounds even in volume.
I will have a go at it when I get home :)

Read the wiki in the mean time http://wiki.fractalaudio.com/axefx2/index.php?title=Multiband_compressor_(block)
 
In use the multi band comp to bring out the bass and keep it even. I shot off the other frequency. You have to find the frequency that you need to to compress.
You might need a hi pass filter because the multicomp compress from the set point to bellow the set point.
Compression is level dependent so it will work as long as you're triggering the compressor which is dependent on the threshold setting and also the ratio.
Usually a fast to medium attack works well. For setting the release it depends of what type of rhythm your playing. If your playing staccato notes you set you release short but if your playing sustained notes you set the release long, so you have to find best setting that fits what you're playing. I hope this makes sense. Lol!
 
A mbc may or may not work as I fear much of the problem could come back to the guitar and/or the pickups. The right combo will give you even sounding chords and the wrong combo can give you nothing but mud. Mud is hard to dial out in many cases and "unevenness", for lack of better term, can be even more difficult.

What is the guitar and pickups?
 
You might be right, but when I have clients in my studio 9 times out is 10 is the settings, like to much distortion or gain or to much bass, unless it's a real crappy pickup. I'm talking about using the multi compressor after the amp not I front of the amp to keep the bass constant almost like when mixing guitars in a track. You can make almost any guitar sound good with the Axe Fx as long as you have new strings and the guitar is set up right .
 
I'm actually using a MultiComp block at the end of my chain just to catch low F# bloom on my 8 string, so I can have my patch as loud as possible without peaking when I chug it.



Works better than I thought. Thinking of posting the patch.
 
I love using the MultiComp block as the very last stage to sum up to four parallel rows (signal channels). Especially when playing the 12 stringed CHapman Stick that goes down to a bass guitar's low Bb and up to the guitar's high E. Summing in the MultiComp helps for pumping where the bass notes drag down higher tuned strings. But, as others have mentioned, it still depends on the instrument's intonation and general frequency response being properly set up. Thicker strings usually need to not be as close to pickups as thinner strings in order to balance the volume. If do too much compression as the summing stage you will lose out on punch and crunch, so it is all about listening and tweaking.
 
But based on my understanding of the MBC, I believe this is possible.

I'd really try working on the guitar (pickup pole adjustment, string type/gauge, height etc) instead. Trying to fix such an issue with a multiband compressor seems a bit like a lost cause. The fundamental frequency of the low E/B is about 41/65 Hz. So much of what you hear is various harmonics (various frequencies) of the fundamental.
 
It's a lot easier to try the multicomp and it takes 10 min to try and if it doesn't work them delete it and work on the guitar.After playing pro for 35 years and doing most of the work on my own guitars and putting them together, I would go rather go for the easiest solution! If your picks don't have adjustable pole pieces like an EMG, raising the pick up will affect the adjacent strings. Trying a different string gauge of string it also a good idea. But if your other strings are old you'll to change all of them and perhaps will have to adjust the intonation.which it's a lot of work than just trying the Multi comp first.
 
I'm a firm believer of fixing things at the source. If you find you might have a guitar/pickups that are under performing, then of course you move to the next step and that next step is correction after the source.

But, like the gentleman in the previous post stated, it only takes a few mins to see if it helps. Try it, but strive to fix the source rather than bandaid the situation :) the results will be superior in most cases.
 
Assuming your monitors can fully reproduce 41 hz, first make sure the amp lo-cut parameter isn't set too high.

Then try this: Place the MBC before the amp so the LF stuff doesn't get all amp'd up and become harder to isolate downstream. Set up the MBC so that the lower band is somewhere around 55 hz and raise the threshold of the remaining two bands to maximum so they are not functional. Adjust the lower band to suit, raising it's output enough to bring out that low E at 41 hz.

An alternative is to use the X/over. Split the signal around the same 55hz and feed the low band to the studio compressor where you can use the extra features like the Filter freq, etc. Boost the output as required and combine the splits before the amp. Be sure to try points below 55hz regardless of the method.


This may help with learning to use MBC: http://forum.fractalaudio.com/ultra-std-discussion/18090-understanding-mbc-when-how-use.html
 
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